On Saturday afternoon, Elliotte Friedman broke the news that the Nashville Predators traded forward Nino Niederreiter to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick.
After General Manager David Poile characterized Nashville’s position ahead of the NHL trade deadline as, “day-to-day,” it finally appears that the veteran executive will be selling before Friday, March 3. The Predators currently sit seven points out of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with a 28-22-6 record.
In 56 games this season, Niederreiter has scored 18 goals (2nd on the roster) and 28 points (5th). The Swiss forward leads the Nashville Predators in individual expected goals at five-on-five this year with 11.07. Niederreiter signed a two-year, $8 million contract with Nashville as a free agent last offseason.
This move further depletes Nashville’s top six, which is already missing Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen, who will miss the rest of the season. Expect David Poile to continue shopping players like Mattias Ekholm and possibly Tanner Jeannot.
Nashville now has eight draft picks at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
All statistics are courtesy of eliteprospects.com or naturalstattrick.com. All contract information is courtesy of capfriendly.com.